ACC Country

What a weekend it was in sports, ACC and otherwise.

North Carolina looked dominant over Virginia Tech in a win that could have easily been by 50. No biscuits for the home crowd, but a nice blow out of a then .500 ACC basketball club. Quentin Thomas is looking more and more confident every day and if the Lawson injury has had any type of silver lining, it’s that it has allowed the former Turnover Thomas to become a competant point guard someone who won’t make UNC fans cringe every time he enters the game.

Clemson had a nice victory over N.C. State, winning without Cliff Hammonds doing much of anything. This almost solidifies Clemson as a lock for the tournament and the March battle with Maryland looks like it will decide the 3rd team in the ACC. N.C. State is all but finished after their 3 game losing streak. The best way for them to get on track is to beat Carolina and/or Duke, plus winning all of their other leagues. A nice run in the ACC tournament wouldn’t be that bad.

Duke did not look impressive in their loss against Wake. Wake pounded the ball inside and Jeff Teague was a MAN, spotting up for 26 points. Wake’s transition game added to the fact that Duke finally went cold from beyond the arc and both contributed to the loss. Schyer went 0-8, and Paulus and Henderson also didn’t play well. The real test for Duke isn’t the loss, but how they respond to it, which makes their road trip to Miami interesting this week. Can the Miami Hurricanes follow Wake’s blue print or will Coach K light a fire under his team?

In non-ACC news, Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500, which is a pick almost no one had (Most people were saying the obvious choices, such as Dale Jr, Jimmie Johnson, or Jeff Gordon.) The Carolina Hurricanes won their 3rd straight game for the first time since October and look to add to that streak with a strong outing against New Jersey this afternoon. The NBA All-Star weekend can be considered a success, for the most part. Aside from the awful Rookies-Sophmore game, the weekend was fun, and the the actual All-Star game was a great exhibition to watch if you’re a fan of a lot of offense.

Mike will probably be here with a Hurricane’s column later this week, and look for more ACC thoughts as the week goes on.